Ms. Kahn’s class is preparing for a debate about what students should learn in health education classes. Students have to defend a position about who is responsible for teaching kids about sex, so they’re doing research looking for studies with scientific data on the topic. They talk while they search.

“Sex education is really an issue of morality. It should be left up to parents to teach their kids about sex,” says Briana. 

“No way!” exclaims Valerie, “What if parents are scared to talk to their kids about sex? My dad freaks out every time my sister and I even mention dating. Schools need a method for teaching kids what they don’t learn at home.”

“I know, right?” says Erick, “I think kids and teens have the capacity to learn about the topic and still uphold their personal beliefs. But people at my church think that if a school distributes information about sex, it’s like saying sex before marriage is okay. They think teaching kids to abstain from sex is the best choice.”

Ms. Kahn checks in with the group. “Try searching for studies about abstinence-only education programs. You’ll need to compare them with comprehensive programs that teach methods for safe sex.”

“I found something! It’s a research study that looks at teen pregnancy and the type of sex education teens received,” says Valerie. “I bet people who had a teen pregnancy were not taught comprehensive information about sex.”

“Okay, Valerie, you sound like you have a position. Let’s find out if you can support it with evidence from a reliable source,” says Ms. Kahn.

Is Valerie’s position on sex education supported by the data? Why or why not?

Is Erick’s church’s position supported by the data? Why or why not?

Discussion Question:

Besides pregnancy, are there other behaviors or outcomes that you would like to consider when deciding what type of sex education is most effective?